America’s global reputation takes a hit

The America of today is not like the America of yesteryear. 

Amid President Donald Trump’s battle to reshape America’s presence on the global stage, new Ipsos polling across 29 countries shows that respondents in these countries have grown increasingly negative about America’s impact on global affairs. 

Knowing the New America means understanding attitudes in the U.S. and around the world. Below are five charts showing how global attitudes of America’s role in world have shifted. 

1. On the decline. Positive perceptions of the U.S.’ impact on world affairs declined by 13 percentage points from late 2024 to early 2025. As Trump continues his tariff saga, it will be worth watching whether this continues to decline.
2. Unhappy trade partners. When it comes to the U.S.' role in global affairs, some of America's largest trading partners had the steepest declines. This is especially pronounced in Canada and Mexico. This is no surprise given that America’s northern and southern neighbors were hit hard by Trump 2.0’s tariffs.
3. Familiar territory. Out of all the countries and organizations polled between October 2015 and April 2025, the U.S. saw the steepest drop in perceptions in global affairs. This isn’t entirely unprecedented: the last time the U.S. saw a similar decline in global affairs happened at the start of 2017 under Trump 1.0. Though the change under Trump 2.0 is happening much quicker compared to his first term, this time, past is prelude.
4. America’s adversaries see gains. While the U.S. saw the steepest drop in perceptions of its global influence, countries typically seen as the U.S.’ adversaries–China, Saudi Arabia, Russia–saw modest improvements in their reputation on the global stage. Watch this space.
5. Back home, partisanship gap grows. Belief that the U.S. will play a positive role in world affairs roughly halved among Democrats, while growing 10 points among Republicans. Like much of everything in today’s polarized world, partisanship colors everything.

The New America is not like that of old. Amid battles over tariffs and trade, it is clear that global citizens view the U.S.’ impact on world affairs as significantly different compared to just a few months ago.

Trump’s second administration is less than 100 days old. Trump has weathered similar storms in his first administration. Will he be willing to stretch America’s perception even further in pursuit of his ambitious trade goals? We will see.